CIBC and Royal Bank Raise Divdiends

My other two bank holdings came through and raised their dividends! This came on the back of BMO hiking dividends earlier this week. CIBC raised dividends 4% to 94 cents a share while Royal Bank increased dividends 5% to 60 cents a share. There was good news for all the Big Five banks as all of them increased dividends this quarter - the first time in recent memory where they all raised dividends at the same time. These hikes definitely help me with my goal of reaching $2200 in dividends payout but that goal may be out of reach seeing as September is coming around soon. I may have to re-evaluate my goals to make them more realistic. Anyways, this was good news and hopefully I'll be able to add my positions in the banks and eventually I plan to own shares in all five because they have consistently shown that they are solid blue-chips that will continue to increase dividends when they are able to.

-the Paperboy

BCE Raises Dividends and More on the Astral Deal

Bell beat analysts' estimates for the quarter and decided to increase dividends distributions from $2.17 annually to $2.27 annually. This is great news for me especially because it's been awhile since any of my companies hiked their dividends. This also helps me rebuild my yield what with the fact that Canfor slashed its dividends.

Another reason that this is great is that I'll find myself with even more shares of Bell when the Astral deal closes. A recent issue with the deal has been a group of competitors, have complained that the deal would result in BCE having too much control on the market which would ultimately mean an increase in consumer costs due to less competition. However it seems like the complaint is more about keeping Bell out of their playground as opposed to the genuine concern for the consumer especially because the Astral deal would give Bell a much larger presence in Quebec where Quebecor Inc. (one of the groups with the complaint) is a dominant player.

There is always the possibility that the deal falls through due to government intervention which in that case my position in Astral would falls dramatically. However, I feel that this is a minor bump in the road and unless a more serious obstacle appears the deal carry on as planned and close in the fourth quarter. When it does, I'll be getting more Bell shares and some cash in exchange for my Astral shares which would further my overall yield and increase my position in one of the big telecoms of the country.

-the Paperboy

Online Classifieds: Part III

 

In the last two articles, I compared Craigslist and Kijiji (two very popular online classifieds) and I also talked about how to set up an ad to help you get rid of some of your old unwanted junk. Now let's go over how to arrange a meeting to seal the deal.

Once a buyer has contacted you (or you contacted a seller) and the final price has been settled upon, agree on a place to meet up. This should be a public location to be safe. The only reason I would go to someone's home or let them know where I live is if the item is too large to move to the local Tim Horton's (ex. furniture).

Online Classifieds: Part II

In part I of the series, we discussed the different online classifieds and a bit about what makes them unique. Today we'll talk about how to set up an advertisement to help you unload unwanted things and make some of that money back.

As I said before, the two main classifieds that I personally use are Cragislist and Kijiji. If you plan to sell more than one item I recommend creating an account so that the process of putting up an advertisement is quicker.

Online Classifieds: Part I

I'm fairly new to the investing world, but when it comes to selling things through websites such as Craigslist or Kijiji, I know a thing or two. Selling things you don't use anymore is a great way to get some of that money back; just ask the university students that have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of textbooks every semester. It may seem a bit intimidating to meet up with a stranger but by setting up an advertisement online, you can go on with your day and wait for an e-mail from people who are interested. I started doing it 3 years ago but it wasn't to sell old items that I didn't use anymore, but to buy and sell retro video games which was is still a hobby of mine.

What can you sell? I've seen people put up anything from old skates to used kitchen appliances. These websites are essentially digital garage sales. There are two websites that I personally use - Craigslist and Kijiji (which is owned by eBay). Each have their advantages and disadvantages.

Cineplex Raises Dividends

Cineplex recently reported its best first quarter adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) result in company history. This was partly due to hit films such as The Hunger Games (which I enjoyed quite a bit) and Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.The Hunger Games had highest grossing first quarter weekend of all time and the third largest opening weekends of all time.

The company declared that it will raise the annual dividends from $1.29 to $1.35. This will be the 2nd increase since converting from an income trust to a corporation in 2011. Cineplex has the majority of the Canadian market and operates theatres under the names Cineplex Odeon, Galaxy, Famous Players, Colossus, Coliseum, SilverCity, Cinema City and Scotiabank Theatres.

Canadian Oil Sands Raises Dividends

At the end of April, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd announced that it will hike its dividends 17% from 30 cents to 35 cents. Sale volumes were low compared to the first quarter of 2011 mainly due to maintenance issues. The company also reported lower and lower net income compared to last year's first quarter.

Here's a quote from Marcel Coutu, President and Chief Executive Officer:

The increase in the dividend to $0.35 per share reflects confidence in our business fundamentals and the commitment to delivering excess cash to our investors," said Marcel Coutu, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Continued strength in oil prices and Syncrude's solid operating base generated strong revenues, resulting in a growing cash balance over the first quarter. Combined with our recent US$700 million debt issuance, we have the liquidity to fund our major capital projects over the next few years while maintaining a strong balance sheet and dividend.
 
From the highlights of the report, it seemed to me like the company wasn't having a good  quarter relative to last year. While increasing dividends is usually a boon for shareholders and I enjoy getting a raise when I sat around and did nothing, I'm bothered by the quote.

Royal Bank Dividend Increase

At the beginning of the month, Royal Bank decided to increase it's dividends. Canada's largest bank hiked it's quarterly distributions to 57 cents a share which is a 6% increase. This is great because I plan to hold my position in the company for the foreseeable future. Hopefully Royal Bank (along with all my other positions) continue to increase dividend for years to come. Too bad CIBC didn't follow suit this quarter...

-the Paperboy

Financial Goals for 2012

Time has been flying by for me these past couple of days. We are already past the half way mark for January. My portfolio has been recovering nicely since we rang in the new year. While this is good news, I've been having difficulty deploying funds because I can't find attractive entry points. The issue is that a mere couple months ago, all the stocks that I keep an eye on were much cheaper. It can be argued that some of them are still at a nice valuation but I'm going to take a page out of my girlfriend's book on shopping, I just saw them on sale - there's no way I'm going to buy them for more than I know I can get them for.

Now that 2012 is in full swing, I'm sitting on some cash that I transferred from my TFSA savings account to my TFSA margin account and waiting for the right time to pounce. I guess that's how it goes sometimes, when you want to invest, there's not enough money and when you have some cash, there's nowhere to put it. Along with investing in my TFSA margin account, I have some other goals for the year that I'll hopefully be able to accomplish.

Corus Dividend Hike

Earlier this week, Corus Entertainment announced that the company will be increasing dividends by 10% this year after announcing a $9.1 million in profit in the first quarter (higher than the $90.7 million from the previous year).  Revenue from the radio division has dropped and advertising revenue is weaker than last year but the specialty channel business more than made up for the decrease. Things should start to pick up once other companies feel comfortable enough to start using a more liberal marketing budget. The hike is not a surprise to me since Corus has been increasing dividends on an annual basis for at least the last 5 years earning it a spot on the Canadian Dividend Aristocrat list (a great starting point for investment ideas by the way). Corus has been distributing dividends since 2003 and hasn't looked back since. I recently increased my position in Corus and I couldn't have done it at a better time. I'll be holding my position for the forseeable future so keep the hikes coming!

-the Paperboy

Dividends Progress Report: Beginning of the Year

2012 marks the first full calender year that I've become obsessed with personal finance. I started in late May last year and it has quickly become one of my pastimes. Since it's the beginning of the year, I thought it would be nice to see where I'm at in terms of dividends distribution right now and how far along I'll be when next December rolls around. I'll have monthly updates like the budgets to help keep track and hopefully I end up like Scrooge McDuck... the wealthy part... not the duck part.

On track for an annual dividends return of - $1375.35
Total yield of portfolio - 5.36%
Actual dividends received - $0
Expected dividends return if the current positions are held for 1 year - $1375.35

The difference between the first number and the fourth number is that as the year progresses and I add positions to my portfolio, I'll naturally be missing some distributions. The first number will show how much I expect to get at the end of the calender year while the fourth number shows how much I would have got if I had my positions since the beginning of the year. Having the two numbers will show how much of an impact time has on investing. As I collect more data, I'll start plotting a graph to help visualize my progress.

-the Paperboy

Astral Media Increases Dividends

Great news for Astral Media shareholders. The company has decided to hike the dividends by 33%. Along with this, the company announced its plans to buyback stock which will leave less shares outstanding, giving remaining shareholders a larger slice of the pie. Astral Media has 23 television services and is the largest radio company in Canada, with 83 radio stations. They also do outdoor advertisement and you may have seen the logo on billboards and bus shelters around your city. I'm currently long on Astral Media but I feel that I rushed into it and bought it at too high of a price. The increase in dividends makes me feel a little better though and hopefully this is something they'll continue to do because I plan to hold my shares for a long time.

-the Paperboy

Paid to Play

Along with saving money and spending wisely, another way to reach your goals is to increase income. One way to do this is to get an additional job, however it may be quite exhausting juggling two jobs, family, a social life, and school (if applicable...if not applicable then I envy you). So today we are going to talk about other ways to make a little side money while doing things that you enjoy.

Jobs

Admit it, some of you thought of the guy above first and going to work second. Understandable. The man put my iPod and phone into one device - he's a technological god. But seriously. Go get a job. If you want to pay down debt you'll need money. Where does that money come from? There's no money fairy (but imagine if there was!) so you're going to have to work for your dough. I started working when I was 15 and ever since, not only do I pay for everything I want on my own and I feel that I'm in control which is a great feeling. I realized how hard it is to make money so I've become more responsible financially; I try not to blow it all away and I make better choices in terms of what to purchase and when to purchase it.